Begone Satan! : a soul stirring account of diabolical possession

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Begone Satan!

A Soul-Stirring Account
Of Diabolical Possession
In Iowa

After 23 Days' Battle in September, 1928,
Devil Was Forced to Leave

Imprimatur

+ JOS. P. BUSCH

Bishop of St Cloud

St. Cloud, July 28, 1935.

Nihil Obstat

RT. REV. JOHN P. DURHAM

Published with permission of Rt. Rev. Alcuin Deutsch, 0. S. B.,

St. John's Abbey

Leaflets with the Exorcism against Satan and the Rebellious
Angels published by order of His Holiness, Pope Leo XIII
may be had at one cent a copy.

BEGONE SATAN!

A Soul-Stirring Account of Diabolical

Possession

Woman Cursed by Her Own Father,
Possessed from 14th Year till
40th Year

Devils Appearing: Beelzebub, Lucifer, Judas,

Jacob, and Mina

Fourth Printing — Completely Revised 45,000

Published by
Rev. Celestine Kapsner, 0. S. B.
St. John's Abbey
Collegeville, Minn.

FOREWORD

In regard to Begone Satan, some persons have asked the
question: "Why publish a story of this kind in our age and
civilization?" One could answer this by replying that our age
and civilization needs to learn anew a lesson that was vainly
laughed to scorn in past generations.

During His sojourn here on earth Christ cast out devils at
various times. The powers of Christ were transmitted to the
Apostles and their successors; and the Church's ordinary rite
of ordination to the Priesthood includes the order of exorcist, in
which Christ's power to cast out devils is transmitted. The
Church, moreover, has a special rite for such exorcisms, and
throughout the ages she has witnessed the effective use of it.
Her long experience also explains her extreme caution, her ex-
tensive investigation of a case, before permitting any exorcism.

For a time it was fashionable to scoff at demoniacal pos-
session as part and parcel of an outmoded superstition of by-
gone ages of ignorance — like the attitude of a lifetime ago in
regard to the miracles of Lourdes. But facts are stubborn, also
against the scoffings of so-called enlightened criticism. Stubborn
facts cannot be denied even when they baffle all natural explana-
tion. The absurd thing about such a position is that the critics
"just know" that supernatural or preternatural phenomena
simply "cannot be."

We have become much more sober in our day. And it is a
healthy sign that the man of education no longer scoffs so
readily at that which he cannot explain. So much has been
gained for perennial common sense.

To a great extent the essential matters of Christian faith
are beyond the field of natural knowledge. However, any view-
point that is flatly contradicted by true natural knowledge can-
not be a matter of Christian faith. In regard to sin and the
Kingdom of Satan, Christian faith teaches Christ's conquest of
Satan and Satan's dominion by His death and resurrection. Now
this conquest is shared by individual souls in the sacrament of
Baptism, the rite of which contains several solemn exorcisms
as well as renunciation of Satan and his pomps. In the light
of this Christian faith it is not at all surprising that Satan
should be regaining something of his hold on men in our day.
For we have in several past centuries witnessed the increased
abandonment by men of the Church of Christ, and among non-
Catholic denominations the increased abandonment of the sacra-
ment of Baptism. What is this but a great surrender to the
powers of evil ?

For a succinct statement of the Catholic position on pos-
session by the devil, the reader is referred to the Catholic En-
cyclopedia, article "Possession, Demoniacal."

Virgil Michel, 0. S. B., Ph. D.

Written in German by

REV. CARL VOGL

and translated by
REV. CELESTINE KAPSNER, 0. S. B.

BEGONE SATAN!

A Sensational Expulsion of the Devil which occurred

in Iowa in- 1928.

Nineteen hundred years ago, Christ, the Son of
God, came upon this earth. He gained the victory
over Satan, the Prince of this World, and founded His
own Kingdom, the Church. He vested His Church
with the same powers that He had received from the
Father. "As the Father sent Me, so I send you."

When preparing her candidates for the ministry,
Holy Mother Church hands these powers over to them
that they may continue the mission of Christ's King-
dom on earth. Preparatory to Holy Priesthood the
candidate receives the so-called minor and major or-
ders. Among the minor orders is one called the Order
of Exorcist. When the Bishop confers this order he
pronounces the following significant words: You re-
ceive also the power to place your hands upon those
possessed and through the imposition of the hands,
the grace of the Holy Ghost and the words of exorcism
you shall drive evil spirits out of the bodies of those
so possessed.

The solemn and powerful meaning attached to
this ceremony, not conferred in any of the other
orders, can be gleaned from the words: Receive and
impress upon your mind that you receive the right to
place your hands upon those possessed.

Later on the Bishop invites the faithful to join
him in asking that he who is to receive this order may
be an effective agent in expelling the evil spirit from
those possessed. He continues to pray that the candi-

4 BEGONE SATAN

date may become an approved physician of the
Church through the gift of healing conferred upon her
by the Almighty Himself.

The Church bases her action on the example of
Christ Himself, Who frequently drove out evil spirits
and endowed His disciples with full authority to do

Reprint From The Milwaukee Journal

REV. THEOPHILUS RIESINGER, O. M. CAP.

BEGONE SATAN 5
likewise. The superficial faith of our age regards such
an order as superfluous. The reality of hell, devils, and
cases of possession have been denied as myths of the
dark ages. Even if Christ and the Apostles repeatedly
emphasized the powers of the evil spirit, these are
looked upon as purely superstitious, That Satan has
succeeded in making man so indifferent regarding his
actions of misleading men is one of the greatest and
most advantageous accomplishments. People rarely
listen to anything of a supernatural nature.

Actual happenings of the supernatural in our
times are all the more striking therefore and cannot
so readily be dismissed by a mere shrug of the should-
ers— facts such as the numerous and indisputable mir-
acles at Lourdes, the extraordinary visions, stigmata,
abstention from food, and gift of languages of There-
sa Neumann, the life of the Cure of Ars who was re-
cently proclaimed a saint of the Church, to whom for
35 years the sight of hell was constantly and really an
ordinary experience. No less worthy of note are the
facts in the cases of possession occurring in our times :
the case of a possessed boy in Wemding, Suabia, Ba-
varia, 1891 ; the case in St. Michael's Mission in Africa
in 1906 of two girls being possessed, one of whom is
still living; the noted case of the Chinese woman
Lautien in Honan, China, in 1926 and 1929, which was
under the direction of Father Peter Heier, S. V. D., of
Hague, N. D., now a Missioner in China.

The priest has frequent opportunities for using
his power of exorcism. The blessings of holy water,
its various uses in the blessing of houses and in the
many other blessings and benedictions of the church
in her sacramentals, are dependent upon this power.
Pope Leo XIII in our own time has composed a power-
ful and solemn prayer of exorcism for priests against
the fallen angels and evil spirits. It is said that this
Pope, after God permitted him to see in a vision the
great devastation Satan is carrying on in our times,
composed the prayer of exorcism in honor of St.

6 BEGONE SATAN

Michael that is now recited in the vernacular as one of

the prayers after Mass.

RECENT CASE OF POSSESSION AND EXPUL-
SION IN EARLING, IOWA

The following soul-stirring case of actual posses-
sion and successful expulsion, through the powers
given to the Church over the evil one, is all the more
striking in view of the above explanations. The facts
herein narrated are testified to by the Rev. Joseph
Steiger, who was a personal witness of the scenes
herein narrated. While conducting a mission in the
parish of Earling in 1928, Father Theophilus Riesing-
er, 0. M. Cap., asked the Rev. Pastor for permission
to have a certain person, whom he believed possessed
by the devil, brought into his parish, and to be per-
mitted to use the solemn formula of exorcism over her
while she would be detained in the Convent of the
Franciscan Sisters who were active in the .parish.
Father Steiger happened to be a personal friend of
Father Theophilus for many years past.

"What, another case of possession?" replied the
pastor. "Are these cases still on the increase? You
have already dispossessed the devil in a number of such
cases!"

"That is indeed true. However, the Bishop has
again entrusted this case into my hands. The lady in
question lives at some distance from Earling. I
should like to have her brought here, since it would
create too much excitement in her home and perhaps
would be the cause of many disturbances to the person
herself."

"But why just here in my own parish?"

"It is just here in an outlying country district that
the case may be disposed of in a quiet manner. Two
places are available, either in the Sisters' Convent or
here in the sacristy. So it is quite possible to relieve
the unfortunate person of her burden without anybody
out in the world becoming aware of it."

BEGONE SATAN 7
"My dear Father, do you really think that the
Mother Superior would permit anything like that to
take place under her convent roof? I don't believe it.
And it would be altogether out of the question to bring
the person into my own house/ '

"My dear friend," smilingly replied the Father,
"tell me this one thing. Will you give me your ap-
proval, should the Mother Superior be willing?"

"Well, all right, but only under this condition. I
do not believe that you will have any success at the
convent."

"Thanks for your permission. The case is there-
fore settled, as the Mother Superior did give her con-
sent from the very beginning. I had already made all
arrangements with her for this case provided you
would give your full approval."

Thus it was agreed to have the exorcism per-
formed at the convent. The place was situated in the
country, and as it was summer time, the people were
actively occupied with their work in the open fields.
No one would be any the wiser. Much less would any-
one bother himself about what was going on.

For safety's sake the case was again submitted to
the Bishop, who called the pastor to himself to acquaint
him with matters that he might expect to happen.

"So, my Father, you have given your consent to
allow this to take place in your parish. H'ave you
thought the matter over sufficiently?"

"Your Lordship, to be honest, I must confess that
I was not very anxious to have it. I have a rather
strong aversion for such unusual affairs. But Father
Theophilus explained that my country parish together
with the easy access to the convent would be just suit-
able for such an undertaking, and so I disliked to re-
fuse."

"As Bishop I will caution you most emphatically
that there may be some very serious consequences re-
sulting to you in person. Should the Reverend Father
not have enlightened you regarding the matter, then I

8 BEGONE SATAN

wish to give you information based upon sound facts
and similar experiences. The devil wiD certainly try
his utmost to seek revenge on you, should you be will-
ing that this unfortunate woman be relieved of this
terrible oppression."

"Well, I hardly think that it will be as bad as all
that. God's protecting hand will not fail me. The
devil has no more influence than God permits. And if
God will not permit it, the devil will not be able to
harm me in the least. So I have no misgivings. I shall
keep my word. I have given my consent, and for that
very reason I would not care to withdraw it again. And
should it entail some sacrifices, I shall be only too glad
to bear them if only an immortal soul shall benefit by
it and shall be freed from the terrible stranglehold of
that infernal being."

The pastor had little suspicion of what the future
had in store for him. Today he would hesitate more
than once before consenting again so readily. Far be
it from him that he should ever live through such ex-
periences again.

THE LADY IN QUESTION

The unfortunate woman was unknown to the
pastor. She lived far from Earling, and up to then he
had heard nothing about her. The Capuchin Father
had explained to him what her actual condition was,
that she was a very pious and respectable person now
in her fortieth year. Throughout her youth she led a
religious, fervent and blameless life. In fact she ap-
proached the sacraments frequently. After her four-
teenth year some unusual experiences manifested
themselves. She wanted to pray, wanted to go to
church and as usual receive Holy Communion. But
some interior hidden power was interfering with her
plans. The situation became worse instead of improv-
ing. Words cannot express what she had to suffer.
She was actually barred from the consolations of the
Church, torn away from them by force. She could not

BEGONE SATAN 9
help herself in any way and seemed to be in the
clutches of some mysterious power. She was conscious
of some sinister inner voices that kept on suggesting
most disagreeable things to her. These voices tried
their utmost to arouse thoughts of the most shameful
type within her, and tried to induce her to do things
unmentionable and even to bring her to despair. The
poor creature was helpless and secretly was of the
opinion that she would become insane. There were
times when she felt impelled to shatter her holy water
font, when she could have attacked her spiritual ad-
viser and could have suffocated him. Yes, there were
thoughts urging her to tear down the very house of
God.

"Hallucination, a pure hysterical case, nervous
spells." Such easy explanations one will hear to ac-
count for the experiences. True, similar happenings
do occur in nervous and hysterical cases. However,
many doctors had this case in charge for years, and
the woman was finally examined by the best specialists
in the profession. But their thorough examinations
resulted in the unanimous conclusion that the woman
in question does not betray the least sign of nervous-
ness, that she is normal in the fullest sense. There
was not the slightest indication suggesting physical
illness. Her undeniable and unusual experiences could
not be accounted for. As the doctors could not help
her, it was thought to seek results in another field.

Many years passed. Since the natural means,
medical aid and professional knowledge, were of no
avail, recourse was had to the Church and the super-
natural powers of the priesthood. But a reserved and
skeptical attitude was maintained for some years to-
wards proceeding with exorcism. Examinations and
observations were constantly made. However, it grad-
ually became evident that strange preternatural
powers were at play. The woman understood lan-
guages which she had never heard nor read. When the
priest spoke the language of the Church and blessed

i

i

10 BEGONE SATAN

her in the Latin tongue, she sensed and understood it
at once, and at the same time foamed at the mouth and
became enraged about it. When he continued in classi-
cal Latin, she regained her former ease. She was con-
scious at once when some one gave her articles
sprinkled with holy water or presented her with things
secretly blessed, whereas ordinary secular objects
would leave her perfectly indifferent.

In short, when after years of trial and observation
she reached her fortieth year, the ecclesiastical au-
thorities were finally convinced that here was a clear
case of demoniacal possession. The Church must step
in and deliver the poor creature from the powers of
the evil one. The cause of the possession could not be
ascertained. The woman herself could not give any in-
formation about this matter. Only later during the
process of solemn exorcism was the cause made known.

Father Theophilus had spent many years giving
missions in the United States and was familiar with
cases of possession. Since he had already dispossessed
the evil one in many instances, Holy Mother Church
entrusted this case to him. His stainless career, as
well as his successful encounter in numerous posses-
sions, singled him out as the one best suited to take
hold of this case. He had little suspicion that he would
meet with the severest experience as yet encountered
by him and that matters of such a nature would con-
front him as would tax to the limit his physical endur-
ance. Though this Capuchin Father is the very pic-
ture of health in his sixtieth year, yet he needed all
available resources in order to carry the affair to a
successful finish.

The day agreed upon and approved by the Bishop
for the exorcism at Earling, Iowa, was at hand. Be-
sides the pastor and his sister, who was his house-
keeper, and the Venerable Sisters, not a soul was
aware of what was being undertaken. This secrecy
had been strictly agreed upon beforehand. The main
purpose of such procedure was chiefly to protect the

BEGONE SATAN 11
name of the woman, lest anything of the affair might
get out among the people and they might point to her
and say : "This is the one who was once possessed by
the devil." As she was to travel by train, it was found
necessary to inform the personnel of the train. For
should something happen on the way, their help
would have to be available in case the demoniacal in-
fluences should create any disturbance. This caution
was not in vain, for the men had their hands full.
They, however, did not know what the nature of the
disturbance really was. The poor creature herself was
only too willing to submit to the ecclesiastical proce-
dure, so that she might be delivered from these terrible
molestations. Yet she did not always have the neces-
sary control over herself. She made this known after
her delivery. Thus, the very night on which she ar-
rived at the Earling station, she was so enraged over
those who were to meet her that she felt like taking
hold of them and choking them.

Previous arrangements had been made for Father
Theophilus to arrive that same night, but by another
route. The pastor took his own auto and went to meet
him at the depot. Though the new car was always
running in tip-top order, it lacked the usual speed on
this trip. Everything possible was tried, yet the car
would not make any headway towards the station
though no flaw could be found with it. The distance
was not even worth mentioning, yet it took two hours
for the pastor to arrive at the depot. He excused him-
self to his guest for causing such a delay and dis-
appointment.

To which the latter replied very calmly: "My
dear friend, I was not wrought up about it at all. I
would have been much more surprised if everything
had gone smoothly. Difficulties will arise; they must
be expected to arise. The devil will try his utmost
to foil our plans. While waiting I prayed constantly
that the evil spirit would not be able to harm you, as I
suspected that he would try to interfere with your

12 BEGONE SATAN

coming, yea, that he would try to injure you person-
ally." Now the pastor undertsood why his auto had
balked. This was to be the beginning of many other
unpleasant happenings. After such forebodings the
reader can imagine that the missionary entered the
car with some misgivings. But he took his precau-
tions. He first blessed the auto with the Sign of the
Cross and then seated himself in the rear of the car.
During the short ride to the rectory he quietly recited
the rosary by himself lest something happen on the
way to foil the attempt at exorcism.

The two priests arrived without the slightest
trouble. Thank God, the woman also had arrived
safely at the Sisters' Convent. With this reassurance
the difficult task could begin quietly on the morrow.
However, that very night the enemy displayed his true
colors. News was soon dispatched from the convent to
the rectory next door that the woman caused difficul-
ties from the very start. The well-meaning sister in
the kitchen had sprinkled holy water over the food on
the tray before she carried the supper to the woman.
The devil, however, would not be tricked. The posses-
sed woman was aware at once of the presence of the
blessed food and became terribly enraged about it. She
purred like a cat, and it was absolutely impossible to
make her eat. The blessed food was taken back to the
kitchen to be exchanged for unblessed food ; otherwise
the soup bowls and the plates, might have been crashed
through the window. It was not possible to trick her
with any blessed or consecrated article ; the very pres-
ence of it would bring about such intense sufferings in
her as though her very body were encased in glowing
coal.

THE DECISIVE MOMENT HAD ARRIVED

The greater part of the townspeople had gone out
into the country to work on their fields on the morrow.
All was quiet. Both the pastor and missionary, having
offered up Holy Mass in the parish church that morn-

BEGONE SATAN 13
ing, went over to the convent where everything in a
large room was in readiness for the exorcism. Forti-
fied with the Church's spiritual weapons, they would
dislodge Satan from his stronghold in the person of
the possessed woman. How long would this process
last? It was not to be expected that the devil would
leave his victim without a fight. Certainly a few days
would pass by before the powers of darkness would
give in to the powers of Light, before the devils would
let loose the soul redeemed by Christ, and return back
to hell. It was well that neither the pastor nor the
missionary knew with what kind of horde of evil
spirits they would have to do battle.

The woman was placed firmly upon the mattress
of an iron bed. Upon the advice of Father Theophilus,
her arm-sleeves and her dress were tightly bound so
as to prevent any devilish tricks. The strongest nuns
were selected to assist her in case anything might
happen. There was a suspicion that the devil might
attempt attacking the exorcist during the ceremony.
Should anything unusual happen, the nuns were to hold
the woman quiet upon her bed. Soon after the pre-
scribed prayers of the Church were begun, the woman
sank into unconsciousness and remained in that state-
throughout the period of exorcism. Her eyes were
closed up so tightly that no force could open them.

Father Theophilus had hardly begun the formula
of exorcism in the name of the Blessed Trinity, in the
name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, in
the name of the Crucified Savior, when a hair-raising
scene occurred. With lightning speed the possessed
dislodged herself from her bed and from the hands of
her guards; and her body, carried through the air,
landed high above the door of the room and clung to
the wall with a tenacious grip. All present were
struck with a trembling fear. Father Theophilus alone
kept his peace.

"Pull her down. She must be brought back to her
place upon the bed!"

14 BEGONE SATAN

Real force had to be applied to her feet to bring
her down from her high position on the wall. The
mystery was that she could cling to the wall at all ! It
was through the powers of the evil spirit, who had
taken possession of her body.

Again she was resting upon the mattress. To
avoid another such feat, precautions were taken and
she was held down tightly with stronger hands.

The exorcism was resumed. The prayers of the
Church were continued. Suddenly a loud shrill voice
rent the air. The noise in the room sounded as though
it were far off, somewhere in a desert. Satan howled
as though he had been struck over the head with a
club. Like a pack of wild beasts suddenly let loose,
the terrifying noises sounded aloud as they came out of
the mouth of the possessed woman. Those present were
struck with a terrible fear that penetrated the very
marrow of their bones.

"Silence, Satan. Keep quiet, you infamous repro-
bate !"

But he continued to yell and howl as one clubbed
and tortured, so that despite the closed windows the
noises reverberated throughout the neighborhood.

Awe struck people came running hither and
thither: "What is the matter. What is up? Is there
someone in the convent being murdered?" Not even a
pig stabbed with a butcher knife yells with such
shrieking howls as this.

The news travelled through the entire parish like
a prairie fire : "At the convent they are trying to drive
out the devil from one possessed.,, Larger and smaller
groups were filled with terror as they approached the
scene of action and heard with their own ears the un-
earthly noises and howlings caused by the evil spirits.
The weaker members of the crowd were unable to
endure the continued rage coming from the under-
world. It was even more tense for those actually pres-
ent at the scene, who with their own eyes and ears
were witnesses to what was going on before them. The

BEGONE SATAN 15
physical condition of the possessed presented such a
gruesome sight, because of the distorted members of
her body, that it was unbearable. The sisters, even the
pastor, could not endure it long. Occasionally they had
to leave the room to recuperate in the fresh air, to gain
new strength for further attendance at the horrible
ordeal. The most valiant and self -composed was Fath-
er Theophilus. He had been accustomed to Satan's
howling displays and blusterings from experiences
with him in previous exorcisms. God seems to have
favored him with special gifts and qualities for facing
such ordeals. On such occasions, with the permission
of the Bishop, he carried a consecrated host in a pyx
upon his breast in order to safeguard himself against
injuries and direct attacks by the evil . one. Several
times it happened that he was twisted about, trembling
like a fluttering leaf in a whirl-wind.

One may ask: Does Satan dare at all to remain
in the presence of the All Holy? How can he endure
it? Does he not run off like a whipped cur? All we
need to remember is that Satan dared to approach our
Lord fasting in the desert. He even dared to take the
Saviour upon a high pinnacle at Jerusalem; and again
he carried Him up on a high mountain top. If he
showed himself so powerful then, he has not changed
since. On the contrary, the devils living in the pos-
sessed displayed various abilities and reactions. Those
that hailed from the realm of the fallen angels gave
evidence of a greater reserve. They twisted about and
howled mournfully in the presence of the Blessed Sac-
rament, acting like whipped curs who growl and snarl
under the pain of the biting lash. Those who were
once the active souls of men upon earth and were
condemned to hell because of their sinful lives acted
differently. They showed themselves bold and fear-
less, as if they wanted every moment to assail the con-
secrated Species only to discover that they were power-
less. Frothing and spitting and vomiting forth un-
mentionable excrements from the mouth of the poor

16 BEGONE SATAN

creature, they would try to ward off the influence of
the exorcist. Apparently they were trying to befoul
the consecrated Host in the pyx, but failed in their
purpose. It was evidently not granted them to spit
upon the All Holy directly. At times they would spout
forth torrents of spittle and filth out of the entrails of
the helpless woman in order to give vent to their bitter
spleen and hatred toward the All Holy One.

You say torrents? Actually those present had to
live through some terrible experiences. It was heart-
rending to see all that came forth from the pitiable
creature and often the ordeal was almost unbearable.
Outpourings that would fill a pitcher, yes, even a pail,
full of the most obnoxious stench were most unnatural.
These came in quantities that were humanly speaking
impossible to lodge in a normal being. At that the
poor creature had eaten scarcely anything for weeks,
so that there had been reason to fear she would not sur-
vive. At one time the emission was a bowl full of
matter resembling vomited macaroni. At another
time an even greater measure, having the appearance
of sliced and chewed tobacco leaves, was emitted. From
ten to twenty times a day this wretched creature was
forced to vomit though she had taken at the most only
a teaspoonf ul of water or milk by way of food.

ONE OR MORE DEVILS

During this exorcism it was necessary to find out
definitely whether the exorcist had to deal with one or
more devils. It was also important for the exorcist to
insist upon getting control over the person and of dis-
possessing the devil. On various occasions there were
different voices coming out of the woman which indi-
cated that un-numbered spirits were here involved.
There were voices that sounded bestial and most un-
natural, uttering an inexpressible grief and hatred
that no human could reproduce. Again voices were
heard that were quite human, breathing an atmosphere
of keen suffering and indicating bitter feelings of di&-

BEGONE SATAN 17
appointment. As is common in such experiences,
Satan can, through the solemn exorcism of the Church,
be forced to speak and to give answer. And, finally,
he can also be forced to speak the truth even though
he was the father of lies from the very beginning.
Naturally he will try to mislead and to sidetrack the
exorcist. It is also common experience that Satan at
first does his utmost to sidestep the questions with
clever witty evasions, direct lies, shrewd simulations.

When Satan was asked in the Name of Jesus, the
crucified Savior, whether there were more spirits in-
volved in the possession of the woman, he did not feign
in the least, but boastfully admitted that there were a
number of them present. As soon as the name of
Jesus was mentioned, he began through the woman to
foam and howl like a wild raving animal.

This ugly bellowing and howling took place every
day and at times it lasted for hours. At other times
it sounded as though a horde of lions and hyenas were
let loose, then again as the mewing of cats, the bellow-
ing of cattle and the barking of dogs. A complete up-
roar of different animal noises would also resound.
This was at first so taxing on the nerves of those pres-
ent that the twelve nuns were forced to take turns at
assisting in order to save themselves and to have the
necessary strength to continue facing the siege.

The exorcist: "In the name of Jesus and His
most Blessed Mother, Mary the Immaculate, who
crushed the head of the serpent, tell me the truth. Who
is the leader or prince among you? What is your
name?"

Devil, barking like the hound of hell: "Beelze-
bub."

Exorcist: "You call yourself Beelzebub. Are you
not Lucifer, the prince of the devils?"

Devil: "No, not the prince, the chieftain, but
one of the leaders."

Exorcist: "You were therefore not a human
being, but you are one of the fallen angels, who with

18 BEGONE SATAN

selfish pride wanted to be like unto God?"

Devil with grinning teeth : "Yes, that is so. Ha,
how we hate Him!"

Exorcist: "Why are you called Beelzebub if you
are not the prince of the devils ?"

Devil: "Enough, my name is Beelzebub."

Exorcist: "From the point of influence and dig-
nity you must rank near Lucifer, or do you hail from
the lower choir of angels?"

Devil : "I once belonged to the seraphic choir."

Exorcist: "What would you do, if God made it
possible for you to atone for your injustice to Him?"

Demoniacal sneering: "Are you a competent theo-
logian?"

Exorcist: "How long have you been torturing
this poor woman?"

Devil : "Since her fourteenth year."

Exorcist: "How dared you enter into that inno-
cent girl and torture her like that?"

Sneeringly: "Ha, did not her own father curse
us into her?"

Exorcist: "But why did you, Beelzebub, alone
take possession of her? Who gave you that permis-
sion?"

Devil: "Don't talk so foolishly. Don't I have
to render obedience to Satan?"

Exorcist : "Then you are here at the direction and
command of Lucifer?"

Devil : "Well, how could it be otherwise?"

Let it be noted too that Father Theophilus addres-
sed the devil in English, German, and again in Latin.
And the devil, Beelzebub, and all the other devils, re-
plied correctly in the very same tongues in which they
were addressed. Apparently they would have under-
stood any language spoken today and would have ans-
wered in it. Sometimes it happened that Father Theo-
philus, while in, an exhausted state of mind, would
make slight mispronunciations in his Latin prayers
and words of exorcism. At once Beelzebub would in-

BEGONE SATAN 19
trude and shriek out : "So and so is right ! Dumbbell,
you don't know anything !"

Once it happened that Father Theophilus did not
catch the words the devil spoke in an inarticulate
mumbling voice. So he asked the pastor: "What did
he say?" Neither had the pastor understood the devil.
Then the nuns were interrogated : "What did he say?"

One answered: "So and so, I think."

Then the devil bellowed and yelped at them:
"You, I did not say that. Stick to the truth !"

Father Theophilus indeed was anxious to know
why the father had cursed his own daughter. But he
only received a curt uncivil reply: "You can ask him
himself. Let me in peace for once."

Exorcist: "Is then the father of the woman also
present as one of the devils? Since when?"

Devil: "What a foolish question. He has been
with us ever since he was damned." A terrible sneer-
ing laughter followed full of malicious joy.

Exorcist: "Then I solemnly command in the
name of the Crucified Savior of Nazareth that you
present the father of this woman and that he give me
answer !"

A deep rough voice announced itself, which had
already been noticed alongside the voice of Beelzebub.

Exorcist: "Are you the unfortunate father who
has cursed his own child?"

With a defiant roar: "No."

"Who are you then?"

"I am Judas."

"What, Judas! Are you Judas Iscariot, the for-
mer Apostle?"

Thereupon followed a horrible, woefully pro-
longed: "Y-e-s, I am the one." This was howled in
the deepest bass voice. It set the whole room a-quiver-
ing so that out of pure fright and horror the pastor
and some of the nuns ran out. Then followed a dis-
gusting exhibition of spitting and vomiting as if Judas
were intending to spit at his Lord and Master with all

20 BEGONE SATAN

his might, or as if he had in mind to unloose his inner

waste and filth upon Him.

Finally Judas was asked: "What business have
you here?"

"To bring her to despair, so that she would com-
mit suicide and hang herself! She must get the rope,
she must go to hell !"

"Is it then a fact that everyone that commits sui-
cide goes to hell ?"

"Rather not."

"Why not?"

"Ha, we devils are the ones that urge them to
commit suicide, to hang themselves, just as I did my-
self."

"Do you not regret that you have committed such
a despicable deed?"

A terrible curse followed: "Let me alone. Don't
bother me with your fake god. It was my own fault."
Then he kept on raving in a terrible manner.

THE DEMON JACOB

When the prayer of exorcism was renewed, the
demon Jacob made his appearance with a healthy
manly voice. As in the case of Judas, one could detect
at once that he had been a human being.

"Which Jacob are you?" asked the exorcist.

"The father of the possessed girl."

Later developments disclosed the fact that he had
led a frightfully coarse and brutal life, a passionately
unchaste and debased life. He now admitted that he
had repeatedly tried to force his own daughter to
commit incest with him. But she had firmly resisted
him. Therefore he had cursed her and wished in-
humanly that the devils would enter into her and entice
her to commit every possible sin against chastity,
thereby ruining her, body and soul. He also admitted
that he did not die suddenly but that he was permitted
to receive the sacrament of Extreme Unction. But
this was of no avail because he scoffed at and ridiculed
the priest ministering the sacrament to him. Later »

BEGONE SATAN 21
in the exorcism he made the following explanation:
Whatever sins he had committed in this life might still
have been forgiven him before death, so that he could
have been saved ; but the crime of giving his own child
to the devils was the thing that finally determined his
eternal damnation. Even in hell he was still scheming
how to torture and molest his child. Lucifer gladly
permitted him to do this. And since he was in his own
daughter, he was not, despite all the solemn prayers
of the Church, in the least disposed to give her up or
leave her.

"But you will obey ! The power of Christ and the
Blessed Trinity will force you back into the pit of hell
where you belong !"

Then followed a loud roar and protest: "No, no,
only spare me that !"

As the prayers of exorcism were continued,
Jacob's mistress, who was in hell with him, also had
to face the ordeal and give answer. Her high pitched
voice, almost a falsetto, had already been noticed
among the many other voices. She now confessed that
she was Mina.

Mina admitted that the cause of her damnation
was her prolonged immoral life with Jacob while his
wife was still living. But a more specific cause for her
eternal woes in hell was her unrepented acts of chile
murder.

Exorcist: "You committed murder while you
were still alive? Whom did you kill?"

Mina, bitterly: "Little ones." Evidently she
meant her own children.

Exorcist: "How many did you actually kill?"

Mina, most unwillingly curt: "Three — No, ac-
tually four!"

Mina showed herself especially hateful. Her re-
plies were filled with such bitter hatred and spite that
they far surpassed all that had happened so far. Her
demeanor towards the Blessed Sacrament is beyond
description. She would spit and vomit in a most

22 BEGONE SATAN

hideous manner so that both Father Theophilus and
the pastor had to use handkerchiefs constantly to wipe
off the spittle from habit and cassock. Because of her
unworthy communions, it was clear that the Blessed
Sacrament, the Bread of Eternal Life, which should
have been the source of her eternal salvation, turned
out to be unto her eternal damnation. For she tried to
get at the Blessed Sacrament with a burning ven-
geance and hatred. Out of this group of devils, Mina
and Judas were the worst offenders against the Bles-
sed Sacrament.

The reader would undoubtedly be misled if he
were of the opinion that these questions and answers
followed in regular order. It must be remembered that
these battles and encounters with the devils extended
over a number of days. At times the answers wTere in-
terrupted with hours and hours of howling and yelling
which could be brought into submission only by pro-
longed prayer and persistent exorcism. Of ten no further
answers could be forced from the devils in any other
way. Countless brats of devils also interrupted the
process of exorcism by their disagreeable and almost
unbearable interferences. As a result of these dis-
turbances, the woman's face became so distorted that
no one could recognize her features. Then, too, her
whole body became so horribly disfigured that the reg-
ular contour of her body vanished. Her pale, death-
like and emaciated head, often assuming the size of
an inverted water pitcher, became as red as glowing
embers. Her eyes protruded out of their sockets, her
lips swelled up to proportions equalling the size of
hands, and her thin emaciated body was bloated to
such enormous size that the pastor and some of the
sisters drew back out of fright, thinking that the
woman would be torn to pieces and burst asunder. At
times her abdominal regions and extremities became
as hard as iron and stone. In such instances the
weight of her body pressed into the iron bedsteads so
that the iron beams of the bed bent to the floor.

BEGONE SATAN 23
According to the prescribed formula of the
Church, the solemn exorcism began with the recitation
of the Litany of All Saints. All those present knelt
and answered the prayers. At first the evil spirits re-
mained peaceful, but when the petitions, "God the
Father of heaven", "God the Son Redeemer of the
World," "God the Holy Ghost", "Holy Trinity one God,"
were said, the regular turmoil and gnashing of teeth
began. At the petitions, "Holy Mary," "St. Michael,"
the devils subsided as if struck by a bolt of lightning.
A murmuring and muffled groaning arose at the men-
tion of the Choir of Angels and the Holy Apostles. At
the words: "From the persecution of the devil," the
evil spirit jumped up as if a scourge had hit him.
"From the spirit of uncleanliness," how he squirmed!
"Through Thy Cross and Passion," how he moaned and
yelped like a beaten cur !

ACUTE CAUSE OF THE DEVIL'S PAIN

As the exorcism progressed, one could see that the
benediction of the Blessed Sacrament pained the devil
most acutely. That was always something unbearable
for him. How he spat and vomited! He twisted and
raved at the blessing with the Relic of the Cross.
Whenever the priest approached him with the cross
and the prescribed words, "Look at the wood of the
cross! Begone ye powers of hell! The lion of the
tribe of Juda shall conquer," he acted terribly.

"Stop it, stop it, I cannot bear it, I cannot listen
to it !" he seemed to say.

And when the exorcist approached him with the
relic of the cross hidden under his cassock, Satan be-
came a raving maniac. "Begone, begone," he howled,
"I cannot bear it. Oh, this is torture! It is unbear-
able !"

The intercession, "Mary, the Immaculate Con-
ception", caused him fearful agony. When he was ad-
dressed, "I command you in the name of the Immacu-
late Conception, in the name of her who crushed the
head of the serpent", he wilted and languished. Then

24 BEGONE SATAN

he bloated up the woman's body, and suddenly relaxed

as one stunned.

HOLY WATER

Holy Water was also something hateful to Satan.
Whenever he was approached with holy water he
screamed: "Away, away with it, away with that
abominable dirt! Oh, that burns, that scorches !" On
one occasion a piece of paper bearing the inscription
of a fake Latin prayer was placed on the woman's
head. Even the good nuns believed that the prayer
was genuine. In reality, the prayer consisted of
words taken out of a pagan classic. The nuns were
very much surprised that Satan remained so quiet
under the experiment. The exorcist, however, knew
the cause of the devil's tranquility. Immediately after-
wards, a second prepared paper was placed on the head
of the woman, which had been blessed beforehand with
the sign of the cross and holy water without anybody
noticing it. In an instant the piece of paper was torn
into a thousand shreds.

LITTLE FLOWER OF THE CHILD JESUS

The pastor had kept a small relic of the Little
Flower of the Child Jesus in his sacristy in a small
pyx without the knowledge of Father Theophilus. For
protection's sake, he placed this in a side-pocket of his
cassock one day and entered the convent where the
exorcism was taking place. Just as the pastor entered
the room, the devil began to rave : "Away, away with
that! Away with the relic of the Little Flower, away
with that weathercock!"

"We have no relic of the Little Flower," the exor-
cist exclaimed.

"Certainly, he who just entered has one," said the
devil, indicating the pastor. At the same time the pas-
tor approached with the relic. How the devil began to
spit and to resist !

At other times the Little Flower played a more

BEGONE SATAN 25
important part. One could also notice what a terrific
battle Satan had with St. Michael.

ST. MICHAEL

At the very mention of St. Michael Satan began
to recoil. He was tortured by that part of the prayer
which refers to the solemn petition in behalf of St.
Michael. He absolutely refused to listen to the state-
ment that St. Michael, as leader of the faithful angels,
cast Lucifer together with his legions into the very
abyss of hell. It was astounding how much he dreaded
the prayer in honor of St. Michael commonly recited at
the end of the Mass. The prayer is as follows :

"St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
Be our safeguard against the wickedness and destruc-
tion of the devil. Restrain him 0 God, we humbly be-
seech Thee, and do thou, 0 Prince of the heavenly
host, by the power of God cast him into hell with the
other evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking
the ruin of souls. Amen."

Would that we as Christians recited this prayer in
honor of St. Michael with greater fervor and devotion.

CRUCIFIX AND RELIC OF THE CROSS
A rather peculiar circumstance induced Pope Leo
XIII to compose this powerful prayer. After cele-
brating Mass one day he was in conference with the
Cardinals. Suddenly he sank to the floor. A doctor
was summoned and several came at once. There was
no sign of any pulse beating, the very life seemed to
have ebbed away from the already weakened and aged
body. Suddenly he recovered and said : "What a hor-
rible picture I was permitted to see!" He saw what
was going to happen in the future, the misleading
powers and the ravings of the devils against the
Church in all countries. But St. Michael had appeared
in the nick of time and cast Satan and his cohorts back
into the abyss of hell. Such was the occasion that
caused Pope Leo XIII to have this prayer recited over
the entire world at the end of the Mass.

As indicated before, Satan dreaded the Sign of

26 BEGONE SATAN

the Cross, a crucifix, or a relic of the true cross. On
one occasion a crucifix not made of wood was handed to
Father Theophilus. This time Satan broke out in a
sneering and ridiculing laughter : "Ha, so you arrived
with a pasteboard cross ! Since when did 'He* die on a
paper cross? If my knowledge doesn't fail me, He was
nailed to a wooden cross."

The crucifix was examined more closely and was
indeed found to be made not of wood but of papier-
mache. On another occasion Satan made fun of the
manner in which Christ was nailed to the cross. "Were
not the feet of Jesus nailed one on top of the other, and
not aside of each other"? Catherine Emmerich gives
the same information. She says that the left foot was
nailed first with a shorter nail. Then a longer and
stronger nail, at the sight of which our Saviour is said
to have shuddered, was driven first through the right
foot and then through the left. Those standing nearby
at the crucifixion saw very plainly how the nail pene-
trated both feet.

This does not mean that we are now sure how
the feet of our Saviour were placed upon the cross,
even if Beelzebub's statement tends to confirm the
description given by Catherine Emmerich. We do not
give the father of lies credit for being a reliable wit-
ness in such matters as the crucifixion even if there is
no doubt that many devils were personal witnesses to
the crucifixion of Christ. In like manner I would have
no one believe that we know for certain that Judas is
in hell, just because he appeared in person as one of the
damned in the case of possession at Earling. Holy
Mother Church has never yet given a decision regard-
ing this matter even though the words of our Saviour
about Judas are thought-provoking: "It would have
been better if that man had never been born."

As the days passed by, a rather odd experience
manifested itself in the disposition of the pastor who
began to experience a rather strong antipathy against
the whole procedure of driving out the devil.

BEGONE SATAN 27
ANTIPATHY AGAINST THE WHOLE PROCE-
DURE

The pastor could no longer bear the presence of
Father Theophilus who had been a dear friend of his
all along, and whom he had known intimately for
years. If he would only be out of the way, out of
sight ! He now wished that he had refused to allow this
exorcism to be performed in his parish, and that he
had sent him directly out of his house. He became so
worked up about it that he finally informed the exorcist
of his ill-feeling toward him and the whole affair.
Father Th. did not show the least surprise. The case
was still in the developing stages and it was only na-
tural to suppose that the devil would have recourse to
some source of temptation and annoyance in order to
foil all attempts at dislodging him from the one pos-
sessed.

Furthermore, the devil used every occasion to dis-
play his hatred for the pastor. "You are the cause of
the whole affair, you are the one who tortures us so
painfully," he burst out. The exorcist commanded
Satan on one occasion as follows : "Be quiet, you hell-
ish serpent. Let the pastor in peace once for all. He
is not harming you in the least. I am doing this with
the powers of exorcism.''

This riled the devil all the more. He said : "It is
the pastor ! He is at fault. Had he not given you per-
mission to use his church and convent, you wouldn't
be able to do a thing. And even today you would be
helpless against us, if he would retract his assent."

This is an interesting proof of how the devil feels
about and recognizes authority. He made this evident
to every superior, while he acted rather civilly towards
the subordinates. For that reason he never attacked
the nuns nor the pastor's cook. All that the pastor or
the mother superior had to do was to appear on the
scene and the disturbance and raving was on. The
mother superior once received such a blow across the
face that she was thrust into the corner of the room.

28 BEGONE SATAN

Satan repeatedly threatened Father Steiger, the
pastor :

"You will have to suffer for that."

"You can't harm me anyway. I am standing
under the protection of Almighty God, and against His
power you are absolutely helpless, you detestable hell-
hound."

"Just wait ! I'll make you repent that. I'll incite
the whole parish against you and I will calumniate you
in such a way that you will no longer be able to defend
yourself. Then you will have to pack up and leave in
shame and regret."

"If that be the will of God, then God be praised!
But you are powerless against Him, you vile serpent,
you man killer!"

"Just wait ! I will fix both you and your Lord and
Master."

"Ha, how dare you speak that way against the Al-
mighty, you despicable worm crawling in the very dust
of the earth!"

"No, I cannot harm God directly. But I can touch
you and His Church." And he continued with scorn
and sarcasm: "Is it not true? Do you not know the
history of Mexico? We have prepared a nice mess for
Him there."

"Who? You devils?"

"Who else did it? The whole credit is ours for
bringing that situation about. He will learn to know
us better. Lucifer is on His tracks and will make the
kettle hot and heavy for Him. Ha, ha, ha!"

A week later the devil advanced a little closer
with his plans of revenge upon the pastor.

"Just wait", he threatened, "until the end of the
week ! When Friday comes, then. . .

The pastor did not take this threat to heart. He
was getting sick of listening to the howlings and yelp-
ings of the devil day after day.

Yet the pastor did indeed have a narrow escape on
a certain Friday.

I

BEGONE SATAN 29
THE EXPERIENCE OF HIS LIFE

Friday morning after Mass the telephone rang in
the parish house. It was a call from a farmer, whose
mother was critically ill. Would the pastor kindly
come and administer the last sacraments to the dying?
He wanted to call for the pastor with his own car, but
somehow it was out of order and he couldn't locate the
trouble. He had been trying to start it for over an
hour, but in vain. It simply would not start. So he
asked the pastor to come with his own auto, or to hire
a taxi at the farmer's expense.

Within a quarter of an hour the pastor was on his
way to help the sick woman, carrying the Blessed Sac-
rament with him. After dispensing the last sacra-
ments, Father Steiger was again on the road towards
Earling. The road was familiar to him, for he had
gone that way hundreds of times, by night and by day,
and he knew every bump and stone along the way. He
drove very carefully not only because the auto was
new, but also because he was mindful of the devil's
threats to trick him whenever the opportunity was
ripe.

He prayed to his Guardian Angel and to St. Jo-
seph, his Patron Saint, for a safe journey home. Sud-
denly as he was driving along, a dense black cloud
appeared before him. It came just as he was about to
pass a bridge over a deep ravine. Great God, it seemed
as if his eyes were blindfolded! The next moment
there was a crash, a smash-up which dumbfounded him.
He found himself in a mess of ruins. The auto had
crashed into the railing of the bridge with an indes-
cribable force although he had jerked the car into low
gear. The auto, now a complete wreck, was hanging
on the iron trellis threatening every moment to drop
into the deep abyss below. The noice of the crash was
so loud that a farmer ploughing a field some distance
away heard the noise and became greatly alarmed. Full
of anxiety he hastened to the scene of the accident.
Good God, it's the pastor's car ! "Father, Father, what

30 BEGONE SATAN

happened? Are you hurt?" The pastor, scared to
death, slowly crawled out from underneath the debris.
Even the steering wheel was crushed to pieces. His
legs would hardly hold him up. The wonder of it was
that the rod of the steering wheel had not pierced his
breast as frequently happens in such accidents. The
farmer hastened home at once and reappeared with his
own car. Leaving the wrecked car behind, he took
the pastor, still shaking and in a deathlike pallor, into
his own car and hurried directly to the nearest doctor
to ascertain if there were any internal injuries. No,
he was not seriously injured. The doctor discovered
some external scars and a state of nervous excitement,
but there was no sign of any internal injury. Thank
God for that !

Leaving the doctor's office, they drove straight to
the parish house at Earling. There was no one at
home, for they had all gone over to the convent to wit-
ness the exorcism. So the pastor also went there. He
had hardly entered the room when he was greeted with
a roaring laughter full of vengeance and bitter spleen :
"Hahaha— hahaha !" as if the devil were about to
burst into a fit of malicious joy at besting him. "Today
he pulled in his proud neck and was outpointed! I
certainly showed him up today. What about your new
auto, that dandy car which was smashed to smither-
enes? It served you right!"

The others looked wonderingly at the pastor. He
was still pale but nothing ailed him otherwise.

"Reverend Pastor, is the devil speaking the
truth?" they asked.

"Yes, what he says is true. My auto is a complete
wreck. But he was not able to harm me personally."

A quick reply came from the devil : "Our aim was
to get you, but somehow our plans were thwarted. It
was your powerful Patron Saint who prevented us
from harming you."

News of this accident soon spread abroad and the
people in deep sympathy with their beloved pastor,

BEGONE SATAN 31
collected enough money to buy him a new car, so that
the devil would receive no satisfaction from his pranks.
Again and again the devil gleefully reminded the pas-
tor of this incident and warned him to "be ready for a
whole lot more fun."

The devil also betrayed himself by saying that he
is often the cause of similar accidents in order to bring
people to quicker ruin. In that way he can get his re-
venge and give vent to his anger because lawsuits fre-
quently result as a consequence, which, in turn, are re-
sponsible for much hatred and misunderstanding
among people.

The reader may make his own conclusions and
resolutions regarding this. It cannot be so readily
denied that the enemy of mankind actually plays a
great part in such accidents. Is he not a "mankiller
from the very beginning?" Hence a timely warning to
those who use the auto for evil purposes, who decorate
it with all sorts of nonsense and who even display
figures alluringly immoral. The Church has provided
a special blessing under the protection of St. Christo-
pher against evil and disastrous influences. Therefore,
it is customary to put one of these ble^ed medals or
medallions in every car for safety's sake. St. Paul
calls attention to the fact that the very air is filled with
evil spirits.

SATAN'S SPEECHES

It should be noted that Satan did not use the ton-
gue of the poor possessed woman to make himself un-
derstood. The helpless creature had been unconscious
during the greater part of the trial. Her mouth was
closed tight. Even when it was open there was not
the slightest movement of the lips, nor were there any
changes in the position of the mouth. The evil spirits
simply spoke in an audible manner from somewhere
within her. Possibly they used some inner organ of
the body.

We know from the early Christian writers of the
Roman period that the heathens frequently heard

32 BEGONE SATAN

voices coming out of their idols. Catherine Emmerich
also states that the evil spirits took up their abode in
these idols and could clearly be heard to speak from
within them in order to confirm the heathens in their
delusion of idolatry. So it is conceivable how even
some of the highly educated heathens worshipped these
statues made by the hands of man, and why they offer-
ed sacrifices to them as if they were gods. They ren-
dered to these idols the honor that belongs to God
alone.

SATAN'S KNOWLEDGE CAN BE EMBAR-
RASSING

The knowledge Satan had about the sins and the
condition of the souls of those present was rather em-
barrassing to them. But in this case there were no
disturbing revelations made along that line as there
were only nuns and priests present. But even here he
made insinuating remarks: "It is not true that you
did so and so in your past life, in your childhood
days?" He made reference here to acts which were
hardly remembered. The evil spirit, however, would
not be quiet and tried to make a scene of things. So
the answer was given him: "If before God I am not
guilty of greater faults in my later years than the sins
of my childhood days, then I am not afraid."

Thereupon followed a most astonishing confession
from the devil :

"WHAT YOU HAVE ALREADY CONFESSED,
I DO NOT KNOW"

What follows from this? Apparently Satan
knows only the sins that have not been confessed or
repented. What has been submitted to the keys of the
confessional seems to be out of his reach. It would
seem that the sacrament of penance blots out or ob-
literates sins from the soul so as not to leave the
slightest possibility for Satan to discover them.
Through the sacrament of penance everything is, so to
say, drowned in the abyss of God's mercy.

The rubrics in the Roman Ritual for exorcism, so

BEGONE SATAN 33
wisely and so well established, demand that not only
the exorcist, but also all witnesses and all those called
upon to aid in subduing the possessed person, should
make a thorough general confession, or at least a sin-
cere act of perfect contrition before the process of
exorcism begins. Once cleansed from sin they are
more at ease in facing Satan and will not be subject to
annoying remarks on the part of Satan for the sins
committed in the past.

It happened about forty years ago in a case of
possession at Wemding, Germany, that during the pro-
cess of exorcism the mistake was made of calling in
the strongest men of the parish, men of good repute,
to subdue a raving young boy. These good men did not
realize with whom they had to deal. The horrible
beastlike howling and yelping was far less disconcert-
ing than the hair-raising reproofs of the devil for the
secret sins and other mistakes of one or the other of
these men. He described them in minutest detail.
Under such circumstances it is not surprising that few
people care to be present at such an exorcism, even if
they could make themselves useful in many ways. Fur-
thermore, it must be remembered that Satan, the
father of lies, often twists small acts into unusually
and seemingly grievous ones, making mountains out of
molehills, so to speak, and at times purposely distort-
ing them, mixing up truth with falsehood with the in-
tention of creating the greatest disorder and most
lasting enmity.

In order to avoid such inconvenient consequences,
Father Theophilus, richer by mature experiences, un-
dertakes his exorcism in consecrated or religious
houses with only the assistance of priests and nuns.
Even then things have happened. Satan shrewdly
and sagaciously disclosed hidden things which made
certain persons blush for shame; yea, he made them
quiver with fear by threatening to expose them still
more. All the more fortunate, then, that such ex-
perience that will henceforth take place under the

34 BEGONE SATAN

seal of secrecy and will not be broadcast to the whole

world. Thank God for that !

The meanness of the devil and the many odd hap-
penings at Earling became common knowledge among
the people in the bordering communities. The pastor
of Earling, Father Steiger, had asked his people to
unite in prayer and penance, and to make visits to the
Blessed Sacrament so that the evil spirit might soon be
mastered. Despite common knowledge of the unusual
proceedings going on at the convent, not a single per-
son asked out of curiosity to be permitted to witness
the scene. Even if any one had asked, permission
would not have been granted, except to priests from
the neighborhood.

It has been intimated above that out of the voices
coming from the possessed woman, four different ones
could be very clearly distinguished. They announced
themselves as Beelzebub, Judas Iscariot, Jacob, the
father of the possessed woman, and Mina, Jacob's con-
cubine.

The possessed woman had a clear memory of when
her godless father cursed her and handed her over to
the devil. She did not mention any further details
about her unfortunate father, but it was learned
from other sources that he was one of the worst perse-
cutors of priests and of the Church. In sensual lust
and excesses he was a monster of the worst type. He
kept his distance from the Church and her sacramental
ministration, and used every opportunity to ridicule
spiritual things. Occasionally, he attended divine ser-
vices on solemn feast days, but only to acquire new
material from the sermons or the solemn functions to
feed his ridicule and so bolster up his criticisms among
friends and companions. Hence we can understand
how he persisted in ridiculing the priest and his actions
when, even in his last moments, a merciful God granted
him the grace of receiving the last sacrament of Ex-
treme Unction. As you live, so you die. And his con-
cubine, Mina, was fully his equal in this respect. Birds*

BEGONE SATAN 35
of a feather flock together.

What was most surprising was that such a wicked
and blasphemous father was blessed with such a vir-
tuous child. Her sincere piety, her pure and innocent
disposition, her diligent application, all were very
apparent. Even during the period of possession the
devil could not disturb her inner basic disposition be-
cause the devil has no power over the free will of a
human being.

It was evident that, in addition to the above men-
tioned devils, there were also a great number of other
unclean spirits in her. Among these the so-called
dumb devils and avenging spirits made themselves
especially prominent.

DUMB DEVILS AND AVENGING SPIRITS
The number of silent devils was countless. Ap-
parently they were from the lower classes, for they
displayed no marks of strength or power. Their
voices were rather a confusion of sounds from which
no definite answers could be distinguished. There was
no articulate, speech, rather a pitiful moaning and sub-
dued howling. They could put up little resistance
against the powerful effects of exorcism. It seemed as
though they came and left in hordes, one crowd being
relieved by others of the same type. They reminded
one of a traveler who is suddenly overtaken by a
swarm of mosquitoes. A few puffs of tobacco drive
them away, but in short order they return and pester
him again.

AVENGING SPIRITS
The avenging spirits were wild and violent, of
rough and ill-mannered character. They were filled
with hatred and anger against all human beings.
Their very presence suggested an ugly and disgusting
attitude — a mixture of hatred and envy, meanness and
revenge, deception and trickery. These were precisely
the ones that threatened to make the pastor rue his
consent to this exorcism. They had in mind to stir up
the whole parish against him by their misrepresent a-

36 BEGONE SATAN

tions, so that he would have to pack up and leave in
disgust. One might presume from this that the devils
are much to blame for bringing about misunder-
standings between the pastor and the people. Not in-
frequently pastors tell of how they sacrificed them-
selves, even ruined their health, for the good of the
people, but despite all their untiring efforts, some of
the most inconceivable misinterpretations and mis-
representations had taken place in their parishes. Some
people seem to find it their business to make the life of
their shepherd so miserable that he is brought almost
to the point of despair. All his good intentions bring
him nothing- but persecutions of the worst sort. Hence
it would not be amiss for pastors to use the small for-
mula of exorcism periodically in order to protect their
flocks from such meddlings of the devil, or to use the
prayers composed by Pope Leo XIII for just such an
emergency.

The scheming and plotting of these avenging
spirits almost succeeded in inciting the pastor of Ear-
ling to white heat against Father Th., his friend of
long standing, doubtless with the intention of prevent-
ing the success of the exorcism. He was so wrought up
over the procedure at times that he thought of bringing
the whole affair to an abrupt close by driving Father
Theophilus from his church and convent with the
sharpest words of reproof.

NIGHT PROWLERS
During the process of exorcism, the evil spirits
repeatedly made statements to the effect that they
would tire and exhaust the pastor. One time in the
middle of the night he was suddenly awakened by a dis-
turbance in the room. Were rats gnawing somewhere ?
It seemed to be between the walls near his bed. Was
there so much room there that the rats could run about
so freely? During his fourteen years in this same
house he had never experienced anything of the kind.
Was he to be bothered with such miserable pests at
last? He pounded the wall with his fist to scare away

BEGONE SATAN 37
the rodents. But to no avail. He first used his cane,
then his shoe, to pound on the wall. Instead of letting
up, the noise became worse. Perhaps the night prowl-
ers would disappear of their own accord. He waited
and waited. They continued up and down between the
walls, and even threatened to ruin them.

Father Steiger was in need of a good night's rest
after all the disturbances during the day. An idea
came that seemed altogether too foolish. Could there
be some relation between these night prowlers and the
evil spirits of the exorcism? Had not the devils
threatened to tire him out? Perhaps this is what they
meant after all. If so, then there is only one thing to
do, and that is to use spiritual weapons against these
intruders. Fortifying himself with his stola, the pas-
tor again tried to sleep. At last, the noise let up, but
not altogether. "Wait, you cursed hellrats, I'll get
rid of you yet!" Getting up again, he lit two candles
before a crucifix and recited the small formula of exor-
cism against evil spirits. Aha! That was the lan-
guage these hellrats understood. They took to flight
and all was quiet. They seemed to have been spirited,
blown off now, although all previous thumping and
pounding on the walls had brought no results.

A few nights thereafter the pastor again spent a
restless night. Are the doors rattling? Is the house
quaking? Oh, it's only a heavy express train going
through the village, and these noises are only the after
rumblings of the jarred earth. The railroad track was
only a short distance away. He waited for the train
to start from the depot, but he heard no move. Per-
haps it's the rattling of machinery in the near-by elec-
tric shop !

Finally, the noise ceased. But suddenly it was
heard again, this time right above the door. Maybe
the door is ajar so that a draft is swaying it back and
forth. There was no door stop to catch it, and so he
had to get up again. But lo! the door was closed
firmly. He took hold of the knob with a firm grip and

38 BEGONE SATAN

pulled hard ; it did not yield. What, is the devil again
at his pranks to tire him out, to rob him of his night's
rest? The pastor took the holy water, sprinkled the
door, windows, and room, and recited the short for-
mula of exorcism. Again all was quiet. There was
not a stir after that. "0 you miserable Satan, now I
know your stealthly cunning. Just wait, I'll soon teach
you good manners."

It was learned later that other priests, who had
attended the process of expelling the devil, experienced
similar inconveniences and annoyances. Even worse
things had happened to them. They would not retire
after that without having holy water and the stola with
them. The noises were often so persistent that one or
the other of the priests was obliged to get up at night
and seek the place and cause of the disturbances, and
only after praying was he able to find peace again.
Night prowlers of this kind have been met with in
other cases of exorcism even long after the evil spirits
had been driven out of the possessed person.

HOW THE POSSESSED WOMAN FARED

Every day the woman lost consciousness and be-
came utterly helpless shortly after the formula of ex-
orcism had begun. When the exercises ceased, she
woke up and was herself again. She declared that she
was unaware of what transpired during the exercises.
Quite exhausted, she had to be carried to and from the
place where the exorcism was performed. During all
this time she could not eat solid foods, but nourishment
in liquid form was injected into her. It was sur-
prising to note how such a weak creature could vomit
forth such quantities of material as indicated above.
It was not unusual for her to vomit twenty to thirty
times a day.

The fact that, in her weakened condition, she
could bear up under the daily strain of exorcism for
three weeks seems incredible, especially when the ter-
rible abuses upon her body inflicted by the devil, are

BEGONE SATAN 39
taken into consideration. She suffered so intensely on
one occasion that she assumed a death-like color, and
seemed ready to pass away at any moment. "Great
God, she is dying. I will hasten to get the holy oils!"
broke out the pastor, who realized the terrible conse-
quences for all concerned if she died under these condi-
tions. The charge that the priests had caused her
death through the strain of exorcism would certainly
have been launched against them. Father Theophilus
calmly replied on the basis of his long experience:
"Just remain here, my friend; the woman will not die.
Absolutely not. This manifestation is only one of
Satan's cunning tricks. He cannot and will not be per-
mitted to kill her. Absolutely not."

EXORCISM LASTED TWENTY-THREE DAYS

The period of exorcism extended over an un-
usually long period of time. Never before did it take
so long, as far as we know. It lasted just twenty-three
days. And remember, the exorcism went on from
early morning until late night. The devil tried his
utmost to weaken the priests and nuns and to induce
them to let up in their untiring efforts. The pastor
could not always be present. His care of souls in the
parish kept him away at times. Neither was he physi-
cally able to sacrifice so many hours of the night for
this purpose. Thus it happened that many interesting
and also terrible things took place in his absence to
wrhich howTever, the others were trustworthy witnesses.

The solemn formula of exorcism was in progress
for more than two wreeks before there were any indica-
tions that the devil could be forced to depart from the
poor helpless possessed woman. Even though Father
Theophilus had succeeded in delivering her from a
large number of devils through the great powers of the
prayers and exorcisms, the four meanest and most per-
sistent ones could not be dislodged for a long time.
Satan seemed to have gathered up all the forces of hell
to gain a final victory in this case.

40 BEGONE SATAN

HIGH COMMANDER
It was very evident that the forces of hell were
under the direction of a high commander who, like a
general and field marshall, sent forth new recruits for
battle whenever the veterans, in their exhausted con-
dition, were forced to retire. What pitiful sighs and
pleadings they sent forth. One could hear voices to
this effect : "Oh, what we have to put up with here ; it
is just terrible, all that we have to suffer." There were
other voices that kept on urging their fellow-devils not
to let up : "And how we will again have to suffer and
cringe under him, how he will torture us again if we
return without having accomplished our task." They
clearly referred to Lucifer as the torturer.

In order not to give Satan and his hordes any
peace whatever, Father Theophilus finally decided to
continue the exorcisms himself throughout the night,
expecting thereby to achieve his victory. He was
blessed with a muscular body and with nerves of steel.
He had tested these out by a rigorous and abstemious
life of self-denial, which had given him great powers
of endurance. And indeed it was something almost
superhuman that was demanded of him. For three
days and three nights he kept on without any inter-
mission. Even the sisters who alternated were on the
verge of a breakdown. Yet the desired effect did not
come. It was only with the summoning of his last
strength that the exorcist dared to continue. And at
the close of the twenty-third day he was completely
spent. He had the appearance of a walking corpse, a
figure which at any moment might collapse. His own
countenance seemed to have aged twenty years during
those three weeks.

ANTICHRIST

The reader may at this time be inclined to ask if
the devil disclosed things that would be of general in-
terest. For instance, the question of the Antichrist.
What did Satan have to say about him?

It must be clearly borne in mind that the questions

BEGONE SATAN 41
directed to the devil and the answers given by him
were by no means an entertaining dialogue between
the evil spirits and the exorcist. On occasions a long
time intervened before an answer could be forced out
of Satan. For the greater part, only a ghastly bellow-
ing, groaning and howling was the result, whenever he
was urged to answer under the powers of exorcism. It
was often such a terrible drudgery, so exhaustingly
tiresome and irritating, that on some days the exorcist
was completely covered with perspiration. He had to
make a complete change of attire as often as three to
four times a day. Towards the end of those terrible
days he became so weak, that he felt he could continue
only with the special help of God. Yes, he even pleaded
for the grace to be spared his own life. Curious ques-
tions not related to the present exorcism were never
purposely asked. At times, however, it happened that
some of the answers given by the devil himself sug-
gested other questions not strictly pertinent to the case.

On such occasions, Father Theophilus was snub-
bed by the devil with coarse and harsh replies : "Shut
up, that is none of your business !" Satan often used
the crisp Latin expression: "Non ad rem!" Which
means, "not to the point," "that has nothing to do with
this affair."

At one time Satan became rather talkative about
the Antichrist. Remember the time he had so tri-
umphantly referred to the Mexican situation, when he
said that he would stir up a fine mess for Him (Jesus)
and His Church, far more detrimental than hitherto.
When asked whether he meant that the furious rage
of the Antichrist would be directed against the
Church of God, he asserted that that was, self-evident
and insolently continued: "Yes, Satan is already
abroad, and the Antichrist is already born in Pales-
tine. (On another occasion he also mentioned Amer-
ica.) But he is still young. He must first grow up
incognito before his power can become known."

In another case of possession the devil gave the

42 BEGONE SATAN

years 1952-55 as the time of the Antichrist's appear-
ance.

It is strange that Catherine Emmerich mentioned
a similar period, when she gave a description of
Christ's descent into hell after His death upon the
cross. She related that "when the portals of hell were
opened by the angels, there was a terrible uproar,
cursing, scolding, howling and moaning. Individual
angels were hurling hordes of evil spirits aside. All
were commanded to adore Jesus. This caused them
the greatest pain. In the center of it all there was a
bottomless abyss as black as night. Lucifer was bound
in chains and cast into this depth of darkness. All this
happened in accordance with set laws. I heard that
Lucifer, if I am not mistaken, would again be freed
for a time about fifty or sixty years before the year
2000 A. D. A number of other devils would be re-
leased somewhat earlier as a punishment and source of
temptation to sinful human beings."

On one occasion, when Father Th. insisted that the
devil should depart and return to hell, the devil re-
plied in a growling tone : "How can you banish me to
hell? I must be free to prepare the way for the Anti-
christ." And again he spoke out of the possessed wo-
man: "We know a lot. We read the signs of the
times. This is the last century. When people will
write the year 2000 the end will be at hand."

Whether the "father of lies", as our Lord Him-
self styles Satan, spoke the truth, it is impossible to
judge. At all events, we shall do well if according to
our Lord's suggestion, we try to understand the signs
of the times.. That the powers of hell are putting up
a desperate attempt to ruin the Church of Christ in
our own times cannot be denied.

At one time the evil spirits howled and yelped
fearfully when the prayers of exorcism were solemnly
pronounced and when the blessings with the relic of the

BEGONE SATAN 43
cross and the consecrated Host were given: "Oh, we
cannot bear it any longer. We suffer intensely. Do
stop it, do stop it! This is many times worse than
hell r

These groans, indicating the attendant pain and
suffering, cut to the quick.

"Therefore, depart at once, ye cursed! It is en-
tirely within your power to free yourselves from these
sufferings. Let this poor woman in peace! I con-
jure you in the name of the Almighty God, in the name
of the Crucified Jesus of Nazareth, in the name of His
purest Mother, the Virgin Mary, in the name of the
Archangel Michael !"

"Oh, yes," they groaned, "we are willing. But
Lucifer does not let us."

"Tell the truth. Is Lucifer alone the cause of it?"

"No, he alone could not be. God's justice does not
permit it as yet, because sufficient atonement has not
yet been made for her."

This admission was valuable. It offered a greater
inducement to arouse the members of the parish to
increase their acts of expiation for the woman.

MORE ATONEMENT

In accordance with the request of their pastor, the
parishioners gladly went to church to keep regular
hours of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. They
prayed fervently for the destruction of the powers of
Satan, and for the victory of the Church in delivering
the victim from the tenacious grip of the devil. Fol-
lowing the directions of the ritual, the pastor kept on
encouraging his people to private fasting and penance
in order that their petitions would be more effective in
strengthening the prayers of the exorcism. Our Lord
Himself, when putting the devil to flight, and after
beseeching all to pray, had told the Apostles that this
kind of devils can only be driven away by prayers and
fasting. The devil's own statement, that sufficient pen-
ance had not been done, helped to bring about more

t

44 BEGONE SATAN

fervent prayers and more rigorous penances. The

faithful flocked to church in large numbers from early

morn until late in the evening in order that, by their
prayers, they might add their mite to the work of the
Church in this her mission. The exorcism could not
continue much longer as the reserve strength of those
actually assisting was being vitally sapped.

BATTLES BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL SPIRITS

It was during this time that the poor woman ad-
mitted during her periods of rest that she had visions
of horrible battles between the good and evil spirits.
Countless numbers of evil spirits continually arrived.
Satan tried his utmost not to be outdone this time. The
good angels came to assist at the exorcism. Many
approached seated on white horses (Apocalypse 19,
15) and, under the leadership of St. Michael, com-
pletely routed the infernal serpents and drove the
demons back to the abyss of hell.

THE LITTLE FLOWER OF THE CHILD JESUS

The Little Flower of Jesus also appeared to the
woman during these crucial days and spoke these con-
soling words to her : "Do not lose courage ! The pas-
tor especially should not give up hope. The end is soon
at hand."

This occurred on a certain evening when, to their
surprise, the nuns and the pastor's sister suddenly
noticed a cluster of white roses on the ceiling. After
a while the vision gradually disappeared. The pastor
noticed the anxious gaze of these ladies directed to-
wards the ceiling, but he himself did not see the
flowers.

The words of encouragement from the Little
Flower gave a new impetus to the priests. Now they
knew that victory was not far off. During the latter
days the devils betrayed great fear lest they be forced
to return to hell. Father Th. insisted upon their de-
parture again and again. They pleaded pitifully:
^Anything but that, anything but that." To be banish-

BEGONE SATAN 45
ed to another place, or into another creature would
have been more bearable. They did not want to be
driven back to hell.

"But you are already in hell."

"True, true," they groaned, "we drag hell along
with us. Yet it is a relief to be permitted to roam
about the earth until (at the last judgment) we shall
be cast off and damned to hell for eternity."

THE DEVILS DEPART

Gradually the resistance of the devils began to
wane. They seemed to become more docile. Their
bold, bitter demeanor gave way to more moaning and
despairing tones. They could not bear the tortures of
exorcism any longer. With great uneasiness they ex-
plained that they would finally return to hell. But
how often they are deceptive and unreliable! Ex-
perience teaches us that at times they pretend to leave
the possessed entirely at ease for a while, in order to
sidetrack the unwary observer and thus outwit him.

For this reason Father Th., almost completely
exhausted, demanded in the name of the Most Blessed
Trinity that at their departure the devils should give
a sign of their leavetaking from the possessed woman
by giving their respective names.

"Are you going to do that?"

"Yes," they promised emphatically.

It was on the twenty-third day of September,
1928, in the evening about nine o'clock that, with a
sudden jerk of lightning speed the possessed woman
broke from the grip of her protectors and stood erect
before them. Only her heels were touching the bed.
At first sight it appeared as if she were to be hurled up
to the ceiling. "Pull her down! Pull her down"
called the pastor while Father Th. blessed her with the
relic of the cross, saying: "Depart ye fiends of hell!
Begone Satan, the Lion of Juda reigns !"

At that very moment the stiffness of the woman's
body gave way and she fell upon the bed. Then a

46 BEGONE SATAN

piercing sound filled the room causing all to tremble
vehemently. Voices saying, "Beelzebub, Judas, Jacob,
Mina," could be heard. And this was repeated over
and over until they faded far away into the distance.

"Beelzebub, — Judas, — Jacob, — Mina." To these
words were added: "Hell, — hell, — hell!,,

Everyone present was terrified by this gruesome
scene. It was the long awaited sign indicating that
Satan was forced to leave his victim at last and to
return to hell with his associates.

What a happy sight it was that followed; The
woman opened her eyes and mouth for the first time,
something that had never taken place while the exor-
cism itself was going on. She displayed a kindly
smile as if she wanted to say : "From what a terrible
burden have I been freed at last !"

For the first time in twelve years she uttered the
most holy name of Jesus with child-like piety: "My
Jesus Mercy! Praised be Jesus Christ !"

Tears of joy filled her eyes and those of all in
attendance.

Amid the first rejoicings, the witnesses were not
aware of the terrible odor that filled the room. All the
windows had to be opened. The stench was unearthly,
simply unbearable. It was the last souvenir of the
infernal devils who had had to abandon their earthly
victim.

What a day of joy it was for the whole parish!
Te Deum laudamus! Holy God we praise Thy name!
Not unto us, not unto us, 0 Lord, but to Thy name be
glory and praise.

From that time on the woman, always sincerely
good, pious and religious, frequently visited the Blessed
Sacrament and assisted at Holy Mass. She received
Communion in a most edifying manner. That which
was so terrible for her while she was under the tor-
turing powers of Satan is now the peaceful joy of her
heart and soul.

BEGONE SATAN 47
THERESA NEUMANN

Theresa Neumann of Konnersreuth was also con-
cerned in this affair.

Bishop Eis of Switzerland, who had been well in-
formed about the above case, paid a visit to Theresa
Neumann. And since it was Friday, he asked her
while she was in one of her ecstatic visions whether
she was aware of the terrible case of demoniacal pos-
session in America. She immediately answered :

"Is it not so? You mean the case in Earling,
Iowa, at which some priests scoffed, and about which
others were indifferent ?"

Then followed an astounding announcement:

"The good woman will later again be possessed.
This will be for her own personal benefit, for her own
purification and complete atonement."

Furthermore, the stigmatic woman of Konners-
reuth had a terrible vision on the Feast of St. Michael,
pertaining to the exorcism that had taken place in
Earling. She witnessed the frightful battle between
the angels of heaven under the leadership of St.
Michael and the infernal demons under the command
of Lucifer. She was so shocked and confused by it
that she said:

"If it be not against the will of God, I will ask Him
never again to permit me to witness anything so ter-
rible."

It was by far the worst vision she had ever ex-
perienced.

Father Theophilus, basing his opinion on his
numerous experiences with cases of possession, be-
lieves that the hour of the Antichrist is not far dis-
tant. Lucifer himself was present for about fourteen
days in the Earling case. With all the forces of hell
at his disposal he tried his utmost to make this a test
case. Once Father Th. saw Lucifer standing visibly
before him for half an hour — a fiery being in his
characteristically demoniac reality. He had a crown
on his head and carried a fiery sword in his hand.

48 BEGONE SATAN

Beelzebub stood alongside of him. During this time
the whole room was filled with flames. Lucifer was
cursing and blaspheming in a terrible rage:

"If only I could, I would have choked you long
ago. If I only had my former powers, you would soon
experience what I could do to you."

Through the powers of Christ he had been de-
prived of his original might as even now through exor-
cism his influence was further diminished. Father
Th. asked him one time: "What can you accomplish,
you helpless Lucifer?"

To which he replied : "What could you do, if you
were bound as I am?"

Among the devils who had possessed the woman
there were also the four demons that had formerly
been tied in the River Euphrates. They had done
great harm to the Church in the past. Even today, as
Father Th. remarked, persecutions against the Church
are significant.

The Earling case brought many priests and bish-
ops to a more serious consciousness of existing con-
ditions. Many of them had been skeptical and made
further inquiries. They came in the spirit of the
doubting Thomas, but humbly left with deeper faith.

Father Th., who has had nineteen cases of posses-
sion under his care within recent years, seems con-
vinced that present indications point to the beginning
of a great battle between Christ and Antichrist. He
also seems to have learned that Judas will appear as
Antichrist in this manner, that a human person, soon
after birth, will be controlled and completely ruled by
him. Besides the Antichrist, there will be the false
prophet, in reality Lucifer, who will perform wonder-
ful deeds and false miracles. He will not be born of a
woman, but will construct a body for himself out of
earthly matter in order to plot as a man among men.
But the faithful need not fear, for all the powers of
heaven with its countless angels will be fighting on
their side.

Dr. John Dundon, Physician and Surgeon
1228 E. Brady St., Milwaukee, Wis.

Rev. Celestine Kapsner, O. S. B.
St. John's Abbey
Collegeville, Minn.

Dear Father Kapsner:

We wish to indorse your pamphlet "Vade Satana" as a po-
tent aid to faith in the value of sacramentals, relics of the sainfa
and prayer. No more vivid picture has been presented to us of
the losing battle which the great enemy of the human race haf
been waging against the "camp of Christ". Nothing has made
our inconsistent floundering from the "camp of Christ" to the
"camp of the devil" appear so absurd. The memory it has in-
stilled of the hatred of Satan and the eternal misery of his per-
manent army, evokes a continuous inventory of one's life, savor-
ing of the minuteness of the final judgment. That it will save
many souls we have no doubt. That some will borrow fruitless
fright is also possible, but for them one must say that if the
picture is terrible the real thing must be worse. Agony is the
lot of all at least once.

Satan has seemed too unreal. It would be a pity if this
pamphlet were to be suppressed because some weak souls have
been made to sense him more vividly than the author intends.

We were granted an interview with the exorcist, Father
Theophilus, after reading your account of the diabolical posses-
sion. We treasure the experience as an intimate glimpse into
the life of a pious priest very gifted in a specialty which should
command the patronage of the medical profession, rather than
to be alloted to the realm of superstition or necromancy. We
anxiously await his complete report of the Earling case.

Yours very truly,

J. D. Dundon, M. D.

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